Rooibos teas are a naturally sweet and sometimes nutty herbal tea made from the South African Red Bush and is often referred to as Red Tea or African Red Tea. The rooibos tea processing method involves harvesting the red bush leaves, followed by grinding and bruising of the leaves. Then the rooibos is left to ferment and dried to yield a reddish brown needle-like tea. Green rooibos tea does not have a fermentation step and thus has a lighter taste than red rooibos teas. Both varieties of rooibos tea are caffeine free.

In 1772, Swedish botanist Carl Thunberg found the people of the Cape of South Africa were making tea from local plants, specifically, the rooibos plant. By the 1900s, settlers of the Cape refined the curing process to make African red tea, employing similar methodologies of green tea processing. Soon after cultivation of rooibos red bush tea spread throughout South America and more recently, has broken into the American tea market for its unique taste and health benefits.

Making rooibos tea is very similar to preparing any other herbal tea. 1.5 tsp of rooibos tea should be added for every 8 oz cup of boiling water. The rooibos tea should steep for 5-6 minutes. If left to brew longer, the rooibos tea should not become very bitter, as this type of tea has steeped for days in some South African households. Many rooibos teas also taste great as an iced tea. To make rooibos iced tea, just double the amount of tea used, steep at the same temperature and for the same length of time, then pour the tea directly into a glass full of ice.

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